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A Philadelphia grocery wholesaler must pay $419K to workers denied overtime

The wholesaler, based in North Philadelphia, reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Byun Bros. Sales Inc., also known as B&B Sales, was paying baggers, loaders, and general laborers a day rate or salary for their work, and was not paying overtime to those who worked more than 40 hours in a week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Byun Bros. Sales Inc., also known as B&B Sales, was paying baggers, loaders, and general laborers a day rate or salary for their work, and was not paying overtime to those who worked more than 40 hours in a week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.Read morePatrick Semansky / AP

A grocery wholesaler in North Philadelphia must pay over $419,000 to 21 workers for deliberately denying them overtime.

Byun Bros. Sales Inc., also known as B&B Sales, was paying baggers, loaders, and general laborers a day rate or salary for their work, and was not paying overtime to those who worked more than 40 hours in a week, the U.S. Department of Labor found.

“B&B Sales and its owner intentionally withheld overtime wages earned by 21 hardworking employees, in violation of federal law that protects their rights to be paid fully for their labor,” said James Cain, division director of the department’s local wage and hour division.

The company agreed to a settlement, which a federal judge approved on Aug. 30.

B&B Sales must also pay $8,379 as a civil penalty to the Department of Labor.

The actual amount of back wages owed to employees was just under $210,000, and the settlement included an equal amount of additional damages to the employees.

“The outcome of this investigation and the litigation that followed will provide meaningful financial relief to vulnerable workers who depend on their wages to make ends meet,” Samantha Thomas, a deputy regional solicitor of labor in Philadelphia, said in a statement.

Richard Byun, president of B&B Sales, did not respond to a call for comment on the settlement. Byun represented himself in the case, according to court records.